1) Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of orthopedic braces, and in particular, braces for supporting the ankle of a wearer during sports and other activities.
2) Description of Related Art
Over the past few decades participation in various sports activities by both men and women has experienced explosive growth. The increase in participation has also led to an increase in the incidence of sports-related injuries. Many of these activities require high-speed running with rapid directional changes, or “cutting,” such as soccer and football. Cutting motions subject an athlete's ankle joint to extremely large forces which may result in a traumatic injury. In addition, such forces over time tend to decrease the stability of the ankle joint by increasing the drawer, or range of anterior-posterior and medial-lateral sliding motion, of the foot with respect to lower leg. Instability in the ankle increases the risk of the eventual occurrence of a traumatic injury. Traumatic injury often occurs with inversion, or eversion, of the foot. Inversion occurs when the athlete plants her foot to resist a large lateral force and the athlete's foot rolls onto its lateral surface while the lower leg (or tibia) remains relatively upright. Eversion occurs in the opposite direction, where the athlete's foot rolls onto its medial surface. Both motions can result in a soft-tissue injury, such as a sprain, or even a bone fracture. For instance, inversion can result in a Weber fracture, which is a fracture of the distal fibula.
Various taping methods have been developed to increase the stability of an already-injured, or unstable, ankle joint. The application of tape, however, takes a significant amount of time and effort and may result in reduced circulation in the foot which is uncomfortable for the wearer. In addition, the tape cannot be easily removed, and when removed cannot be reapplied or reused. As a solution to this, ankle braces have been developed that typically include a canvas or leather sleeve extending over the ankle similar to the upper of a high-top basketball shoe with a plurality of laces and eyelets for a tensioned closure. Despite the additional support provided by such braces, tightening and loosening of the laces can be burdensome. In addition, canvas and leather are not very breathable materials causing the buildup of moisture during activities and making the brace uncomfortable for the wearer.
An ankle brace shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) of U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,303 to Shiono discloses a main body 1 constructed of a laminated, three-layer fabric and including a lower leg covering portion 2 and a foot covering portion 4 between which is defined a heel opening 13. The laminated fabric has a polyurethane, non-woven fabric as a core material, a “sweat-in” and “sweat-out” polyester fabric as the inner layer, and a polyamide stretch French pile as the outer layer. Two stretch belts 20, 21 extend over the foot and ankle and cross each other to attach to the French pile via VELCRO fasteners 20a and 21a, as shown in FIG. 1 of Shiono. Also, binding belts 15, 16, 17 and 18 wrap around and secure the shank portion of the main body to the leg. A pair of molded stays 22, 24 are mounted to the main body under the binding belts, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 of Shiono. The use of the laminated fabric for the main body improves the removal of moisture and sweat from the skin of the wearer. However, Shiono's ankle brace is too bulky for use with most footwear and therefore is of limited use to an active wearer wishing to prevent, as well as rehabilitate, an injury.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an ankle brace that is not too bulky to be useable with footwear during athletic activities. In addition, it would be advantageous to have an ankle brace that is comfortable to wear, especially during activities requiring exertion that produces heat and moisture within the brace. Further, it would be advantageous to have an ankle brace that combines comfortable wear with sufficient support to prevent ankle injuries.